CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — Tom Watson, captain of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team, completed his 12-man squad Tuesday at a news conference in New York by choosing three players with experience in the biennial matches pitting teams representing the U.S. and Europe.

Watson added Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson to the nine players who had earned spots via their ranking in a points system during the past two years. All of the U.S. team is playing this week at the BMW Championship.

The Ryder Cup is Sept. 26-28 in Gleneagles in Scotland.

“There were several people in the mix for my three picks,” Watson said. “A lot of players are starting to play well from the American side, and that’s a good thing. We are going to need it.”

“I think we are extremely motivated, and we have a lot to prove,” Mahan said.

Tee it up. Pairings for the Thursday and Friday rounds of the BMW Championship were announced, and the 69-man field will go off in threesomes all week.

The early-round groups are based on the FedEx Cup standings, so the top three players — Chris Kirk, Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan — will play together and tee off Thursday at 11:53 a.m. The next three in the standings — Jason Day, Furyk and Jordan Spieth — start at 11:42 a.m. on Thursday.

Of note, two threesomes will have U.S. Ryder Cup teammates and will go off back to back: Fowler, Johnson and Reed in one group followed by Walker, Kuchar and Watson.

The first two rounds start at 11:20 a.m., while the final two rounds (there is no cut after the second round) will tee off at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

She meant well. Funny moment when Ernie Els was signing hats for spectators during his practice round. A women proudly showed that her hat had a Ryder Cup emblem.

“That doesn’t involve me,” said Els, who is from South Africa and not eligible for the European team.

Aleta Labak, a Colorado native, is happy to have joined The Cannabist after working for The Denver Post as a copy editor and designer in news, features and sports since 1999. It's a brave new world, isn't it?

More in Sports

Big Sunday at the sold-out PC, where the Avalanche never trailed in a 5-1 victory over Detroit. Given the score and the circumstance, our game story is all about Nathan MacKinnon and his Hart Trophy candidacy.